My Kit

This is mostly a practice blog to mess with adding pictures.

In 2005 I traveled to Sudan to visit Jason. That whole trip lasted 5 weeks during which time I only used my hand luggage.  I came to realize that if I could travel 5 weeks there was really no end to how long a piece of hand luggage could be lived out of. To that end, and because I will be traveling mostly overland on public transportation, a hand luggage is all I'm taking.

There were, however, a few problems with the luggage itself that I hope to remedy this trip. The first was the buses had sharp edges which opened a gash in the side of my case. The second was it had vents.  After quite a good search a few years ago I concluded that my best solution would be to build my own case. Initially I had hoped to have wheels and a telescoping handle but in the end, for various reason, did without.

zipper not as flat as hoped

The case is heavy duty, oil cured leather. The seams are glued with contact cement and then hand stitched. It is as big as a hand luggage is allowed to be. It has the added benefit that it can be used as a pillow in a pinch.   The one possible down side I can  foresee are problems with damp clothing in a bag with no vents. The leather is not waterproof but is better than ripstop nylon.

On the back is a tab with a hole and a buckle so that my belt may be used as a shoulder strap.   







Out fitting me will be:

•   A derby hat at the top. I had a cheap derby about 14 years ago so this is really just an upgrade.
•  The jean jacket I took last time. It is warm enough for where I'm going and has good pockets that button. In the left pocket is the passport and in the right my camera.
• For my feet, Red Wing boots. Last time I wore Justin boots with leather soles and came out the bottom after 13 weeks. These will last.
• A belt.(not shown)

Now for the case itself

• The shaving kit has two sides. In this one are

1. In the soap box, band aids and toothpicks
2. In  the pill bottle, Q tips--I'm very picky about clean ears.
3. The white box has some old malaria medicine just to hold me till I can buy some more.
4. The small pills are Imodium AD
5. Dayquil and nyquil and lozenges

• On the other side

1. Razor
2. Comb
3. Aleve
4. Floss
5. Toothbrush
6. Bar soap
7. Old Spice deodorant. It is not really my brand but came in a good size and didn't have to go in my clear bag.
8. Also a towel in the mesh pouch outside for cleaning my glasses.

 Already mentioned was the passport. Behind that is my yellow UN vaccination book. While the book is important what it signifies will save your life.
Also shown an AA LED Maglite and my Bible.




 To be able to compose on the road, an old pda Palm TX with a folding keyboard. It has a hard case with 2 places to store my spare memory cards for my camera.

 Also previously mentioned, a camera in this case a canon s95.

Keeping all that charged and communicating unfortunately takes a snarl of wire.






And finally cloths.

• 8 9 pair pants (1 Sunday)
• 9 11 shirts (1 Sunday) ......I had room so I added 1 pant and 2 shirts
• 10 pair new socks (that's how many came in a packet.)
• 12 underwear. (2 packs)

And because the TSA says so on top in a clear bag

• Shampoo
• A mostly used-up bottle of cologne
• Glasses cleaner
• Toothpaste
• Neosporin
• Eye drops and wet wipes at the top there

If I need anything else that I can't get there, I sure don't know what it is. Well some cash money will be helpful too.
Next up Africa. Peace. Leon

Freedom

What a beautiful word. Freedom. To each of us it means something different but we all have a big picture of what freedom entails.
I worked with Mitch who from time to time would throw back his head and yell FREEDOM.  All of us in the shop knew that he was working on getting his own business going. I assumed that, as he listened on his headphones, he was dreaming of the day he would quit.  One day when I was in the front office he yelled out, the boss was irritated and asked who kept yelling.  I played dumb. Bob had no idea what Mitch was yelling or why. Looking back now it is likely he probably was listening to Dave Ramsey. For those who aren't familiar with Dave he has a national radio show and advocates getting out of debt.

I have been very fortunate to have mentors in my life who strongly discouraged debt. Mom and Dad of course laid a foundation. They never really got into trouble with debt so could not provide personal testimony about the true perils debt can have. For that I had to learn from a teacher I'll call Mr. G.   Mr. G was easy get off topic in class. one day Me. G. got off into how he and his wife were not really paying attention as they should and ran up (a fairly small) debt. The next day he did not even teach the lesson plan but gave out some of the materials they used to get out of debt. I still have those papers. Recently I had the opportunity to drop him a note and let him know how he had impacted my life by that. Thanks facebook. The next person who came along was some money guy on PBS. He did not say anything I had not heard but repeated and reinforced what I knew. The main thing he said that I took away was to live within my means. Having said all that I have on two occasions bought cars on notes.

So what is my point?

Since sometime in 2004 I have been completely debt free. After I bought my house I had such a good experience with the real estate agent I recommended him to everyone. Most people who I talked to had messed up credit and were nowhere near close to buying a house. Still I persisted in preaching the gospel of frugality. Within the last few years I discovered was instructed to listen to Dave on the radio. At first I felt he was preaching to the choir but have come to realize that not only does he believe the same sort of things about money as I do, he has a way to help people out of debt. I have bought and given away 5 of his Total Money Makeover books.
Not having to worry about debt gives me the FREEDOM to travel to Africa for six months and see my family.  If you did not have debt, is that what you would do? I doubt it. Your freedom looks different than mine. I would just like to be that person who repeats and reinforces what you probably already know. Whether you buy Dave's book or not your road to freedom will be uniquely your own. Start today.

Blogger wants me to monetize this blog but so far I have not gotten around to it. If you follow that link I don't make a penny.

Bathroom rating

Civilization can be judged in many ways. A quick google search turns up the free dictionary which says this:

1. An advanced state of intellectual, cultural, and material development in human society, marked by progress in the arts and sciences, the extensive use of record-keeping, including writing, and the appearance of complex political and social institutions.

What is left out of the discussion of all the arts and science is, what are the bathrooms like? It has been my experience that you can tell quite a bit about a people once you get behind closed doors. It takes sustained effort to keep something as basic as water flowing into your house.  Adding heat ups the ante.

Below is a rough and ready list of the possible range I may encounter on my travels, numbered for easy reference. I will be referring back to this list as I visit various places

1.  No facilities at all. High probability that you will be witnessed by small children. Who will laugh and be  very chatty.
2. No facilities. Congratulations on finding someplace private. Squat.
3. Most basic long drop.  There is quite an interesting hole in the floor.  
4.  Again a long drop but this has a concrete floor and raised spots for your feet while you squat.
5. A more civilized long drop.  This place has been made by an American far from home and has an actual seat.  Depending on the roof, spiders and scorpions may fall in your lap.
6. We now move indoors. It is no longer necessary to brave the night. This place has an Arab squat style, floor level porcelain fixture.  The whole room functions as the shower with a drain in the middle of the floor. There is no longer running water and you both flush and wash from a bucket.
7. This is the same as 6 only the water comes from the pipes-cold only.
8. Here is a slight improvement to 7 in that we now get to sit properly.
9. Hot water at last.  This Bathroom is what most Americans would call bare bones. This room is long on function short on niceties.
10. Perfectly acceptable.  As nice as you would find in any suburban home back in the states.
11. Luxury.  I have not actually used one of these but I've seen them in magazines. Gold fixtures and marble are the norm.